CPAP wearer discussion

[Mr Nice]

Originally Posted by Reddy45
Originally Posted by blupupher
Originally Posted by ZZman
Originally Posted by blupupher
ZZMan, same here, I have been using one since 2005, still on original machine. I have adjusted the pressure myself over the years (higher as I gained weight, .


I thought it takes a computer to change the pressure? I would love mine bumped up a little. I'm too cheap to want to go through another sleep study though.

What machine do you have? Some you can do yourself, others you need their software.
The Resmed S8 can be done pretty easily.

Just google "adjust pressure on xxxx" and you should get several results.
It is not something you want to just mess with though unless you know a little about what your doing.
As a nurse that works with ventilators and CPAP in emergent situations, I have a decent understanding of it, but it really is not super complicated.


What are your thoughts on the idea that CPAPs are overprescribed nowadays? In other words it seems like.. if you get a sleep study.. you WILL get a cpap prescription. It doesn't matter if you are perfectly healthy or if you could simply drop a few lbs.. the docs and clinics seem to have a perverse incentive to sell these devices.

Unfortunately you're correct.

 

[JustinH]

I have a five year old Resmed S9 with almost 10000 hours on it.

Runs good, waiting for insurance to pay for a new one.

I only wear it if I clean it with hot water and plain handsoap and let it dry.

Otherwise the smell of spit is too gross to wear two nights in a row.

 

[Srt20]

I have one. A Resmed or whatever its called. Auto adjusting, blah, blah, blah. Had it for 1.5 years. Its a PIA, but I sleep better and feel better with it. During my sleep study I had 61 events per 60 mins. And my oxy levels were very dangerously low.

My wife says I sleep like a baby with it on. Before I got it, she said she was pretty concerned that I wouldnt wake myself up to breathe sooner or later. And she's a PA in a hospital ER.

I clean it about one a week. I find that the pillow or whatever its call gets to much skin oils on it and it leaks. I have the triangle one, ( I call it a nut cup, cuz thats what it looks like) and a nasal one that just goes over the nose.

Just had an appointment last week with my ENT doc. Says I need to wear it more. Some nights I get annoyed with it and take it off. They read all the data from the machine.

 

[klt1986]

I have a Phillips Dream Machine that will be 3 years old this fall. I run the humidifier year round, empty the water chamber every morning when I get up, and refill with DI water when I go to bed. I use some CPAP cleaning wipes (purchased from Amazon) every morning to wipe down the mask. I let the hose, humidifier water tank, mask cushions and connectors soak in hot soapy water every other Saturday. I also have a long flexible brush that I run through the hose. I then allow the parts to air dry. This routine has worked well for me.

 

[blupupher]

I looked at my machine this morning,
Total hours used: 36,226
Total nights used: 4,697/4702

So that is almost 13 years tracked (I guess I got it in 2006, thought it was 2005), only 5 nights not used (forgot it at home when working overnight).
It also tells me I get an average of 7.7 hours sleep per night.

Originally Posted by Reddy45

What are your thoughts on the idea that CPAPs are overprescribed nowadays? In other words it seems like.. if you get a sleep study.. you WILL get a cpap prescription. It doesn't matter if you are perfectly healthy or if you could simply drop a few lbs.. the docs and clinics seem to have a perverse incentive to sell these devices.

It is a catch 22, your having a sleep study because you or the Dr thinks you may be having issues, you do a test to verify it, and you end up having it.
Now does everybody that has sleep apnea need a CPAP, I don't know, but many do, and they have better health for it.

My 2 brothers, 3 brother-in-laws and 1 sister have CPAP.
One brother in law really, really needs it, yet rarely uses it (very overweight, has narcolepsy, snores horribly, apneic periods galore, hypertension, CHF).
The other 2, one kind of needs it and usually uses it, the 3rd, I don't think he needs it, and rarely uses it.
My brothers, both need it, one uses it pretty regularly, the other has had it for about a year and still has issues keeping it on all night, if he remembers to even put it on. His wife says both he and she sleep better when he uses it.
My sister needs it and uses it.

I know for me, even if I take a 2 hour nap with out it, I wake up with a very bad headache and sore throat, plus do not feel rested.
My kids make fun of my snoring when that happens, but they have no idea how loud it used to be, I have been using it since they were less than 4 years old.

Funny story, the first night at home with the CPAP, I slept amazing. Best nights sleep I had in years.
It was the worst my wife had had in a while, she kept waking up thinking I was dead since she could not hear me.
She had gotten so used to my apneic periods and sudden gasps for air and snoring, that without it, she was worried about me.

 

[ZZman]

Originally Posted by blupupher
ZZMan, same here, I have been using one (Resmed S8)since 2005, still on original machine. I have adjusted the pressure myself over the years (higher as I gained weight, lower as I lost).


Thanks! I have a S6 and discovered I can adjust it myself. I just bumped it up.

 

[meadows]

I throw mine into the washing machine.

 

[Shannow]

I think I'm about to start sleeping with a CPAP machine.

Wife took up snoring relatively recently (a few years), and the other night I noticed some gaps in her breathing, which I alerted her to in the morning as a concern.

Quack suggested a sleep test (done), possible CPAP, and definite weight loss.

That's when the fight started...

 

[WhizkidTN]

I've had a couple of machines for over 10 years now. BIG difference in my sleep quality and I always astound the Sleep Dr with my results every year for my annual check up. I use the P1 nasal pillows (I have a full beard) and the ResMed unit with the similar features to yours. I change out my hoses twice a year, my filters every three months, pillows once per quarter. Back in December, I got a SoClean machine which HAS helped (keeps it cleaner) and my HRA paid for it. I use distilled water in the humidity chamber and clean it well one a month as well. My sleep study (the two night type) showed what my wife was telling me about gasping for air, etc. My blood oxygen level was dipping well below 70% during the study. I'm ~300 lbs, 6'2" and while I'm sure losing weight would help, my 89 year old skinny father could still wake the dead with his snoring so it may be partly genetic as well.

 

[CT8]

I picked up the CPAP today and I can't wait to use it.